UT football: Diaz to take over defense

AUSTIN — Mississippi State’s Manny Diaz has agreed to become the next defensive coordinator at Texas, a source close to the UT program confirmed Tuesday.

Diaz, 36, emerged as a hot coaching commodity after four impressive years as defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State. In 2010, his first year at Mississippi State, Diaz took a Bulldogs defense that had ranked 71st nationally in points allowed and improved it to 22nd.

Particularly impressive was the performance of Diaz’s unit against highly ranked offenses. Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and Auburn were held to their lowest point total of the season against Mississippi State, and Michigan’s top-10 offense was suffocated and limited to a season low in yards against the Bulldogs in the Gator Bowl.

Diaz previously worked for six years at North Carolina State (including two as a graduate assistant) and also worked as a graduate assistant at Florida State, his alma mater. A three-sport high-school star in Miami, Diaz did not play college football. He worked for three years as a production assistant at ESPN. His father is the former mayor of Miami.